Etymograph

English

container

Container comes from Old French contenir ‘to control oneself, to keep one's feelings and…’, from Latin teneō ‘to hold, have’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, extend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-1‘to stretch, extend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tn̥eh₁yéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tenēō1‘to hold’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEteneō1‘to hold, have’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontineō1‘to hold, keep, connect, contain, maintain’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontinēre1
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400contenir1‘to control oneself, to keep one's feelings and behavior in check’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500conteinen1
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500conteiner1
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1963container1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English container
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1963, Beyond the Channel: France: Freight stock of the future: “Will container development merely bring about a substitution for…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-Wiktionary, English container‘to stretch, extend’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tn̥eh₁yétiWiktionary, English containerreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tenēōWiktionary, English container‘to hold’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEteneōWiktionary, English container‘to hold, have’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontineōWiktionary, English container‘to hold, keep, connect, contain, maintain’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontinēreWiktionary, English container
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400contenirWiktionary, English container‘to control oneself, to keep one's feelings and behavior in check’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500conteinenWiktionary, English container
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500conteinerWiktionary, English container
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1963containerWiktionary, English container. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1963, Beyond the Channel: France: Freight stock of the future: “Will container development merely bring about a substitution for…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, extend’

tight, maintenance, tone, tune, ton, entertainment, tender, obtain, tonic, tendon, tenacious, pristine, pertinent, tetanus, countenance, tantra, tendinitis, hypotenuse, retentive, maintainer, 64 more

through Latin teneō ‘to hold, have’

continue, tennis, detention, retain, tenant, retention, sustain, tenor, rein, tenacity, sustenance, abstinence, tenet, detain, abstain, tenement, retinue, tenable, abstention, pertain, abstinent, incontinent, 20 more

through Latin contineō ‘to hold, keep, connect, contain, maintain’

content, continuous, continent, continuum, incontinence, continence, 3 more

Today it means

noun An item in which objects, materials or data can be stored or transported.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “container”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ten- / container

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